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Structural & Piping

The LightWELD handheld laser welder is now explicitly accepted under ASME BPVC Section IX for boilers, pressure vessels and process piping — with IPG LightWELD technology referenced directly in the qualification provisions. This is a live, production-ready compliance pathway in Australia today.

LightWELD handheld laser welding pipe joint
Code-Compliant, Now

A Production-Ready Compliance Pathway

The 2023 edition of ASME BPVC Section IX added QW-358, explicitly accepting handheld laser welding for pressure vessels and process piping — and naming IPG LightWELD technology in the qualification provisions. It's also implicitly accepted under ISO 15614-11:2025, AS/NZS ISO 3834, AS/NZS 1554 (structural steel) and AS/NZS 1665 (structural aluminium).

That means structural fabricators and pipe shops can qualify a laser welding procedure the same way they'd qualify any other process — through a WPS and WPQR — and put it into production.

See the Full Compliance Pathway →
Standards Snapshot

Where Handheld Laser
Welding Stands

Standard Handheld Status
ASME BPVC Section IX (2023 & 2025)Explicitly accepted — QW-358, IPG LightWELD referenced
ISO 15614-11:2025Implicitly accepted — technology agnostic
AS/NZS 1554 (Structural Steel)Implicitly accepted via qualified WPS
AS/NZS 1665 (Structural Aluminium)Implicitly accepted via qualified WPS

Full standards reference, the 6-step Australian compliance pathway, and a free downloadable technical document are on our Safety & Compliance page.

Recommended Systems

Power for Thicker,
Structural Work

Structural and piping work generally calls for the extended-range models.

Standard
LightWELD 1500 XR
Maximum Power
LightWELD 2000 XR

Qualifying a Laser
Welding Procedure?

Cameron Jamieson is an acknowledged contributor to Weld Australia's TGN-SW02 and can guide you through standards, WPS strategy, and inspector referrals.

Talk to Cameron →